Horse Sense: can it be taught?

The "Fugly Horse of the Day" blog is always an entertaining, educational, and occasionally frustrating read. Today she poses the question: Is 'horse sense' a totally natural thing that's just instinctive, or can it be taught? The Natural Horsemanship people, like the infamous Pat Parelli, seem to think so. I think it's instinctive, but that the "animal reading" instincts can be further developed with proper training and learning from old hands. For instance, I'm pretty good with animals, but I have a huge amount to learn when it comes to reading and handling horses. What's saved my bacon so far is patience and freedom from the fear that I'll hurt their wittle feewings if I slap (flat of the hand), poke (finger, elbow), or growl at them for bad behaviour.